Milk not Frothing correctly

[srowe]

Lately I have had major problems frothing my milk, I use a Goldair milk frother, I thought the machine may have been faulty, so yesterday I brought a new one and still the same result, I have tried 3 different brands of milk and no joy. The milk seems to be seperating after heating and becomes bubbly and airy. I have also notice in the last week that the coffees I have brought from barristers hava been very watery and undrinkable. Are the milk companies watering our milk down or has this overly hot summer in New Zealand effected the cows and the milk they are providing. I have read that milk can be reduced in hot climates, so could the milk companies be watering it down to compensate for the shortfall.

 

[Coffeefix]

Milk just doesn't foam nicely sometimes...
I have heard 101 excuses from "there's a poorly cow in the herd" to "the cows are out on fresh grass"
Generally, when there's a problem the milk foams up quite well to begin with but then the bubbles get slightly bigger before starting to pop - ending up with little or no foam at all when hot. No options other than to try some different milk.
Users of commercial machines start to question their technique when the milk goes wrong - as long as you have steam at around 1bar and the nozzles on the steam injectors aren't blocked you can usually blame the milk. I've never used a "Goldair milk frother" but I suspect the problem is the same?

 

[nikkakae]

I use ZENPRO Milk Frother and it works perfect for me. The trick is that your milk should be warm. Or if it's hot and you can hold it, it's the right temperature.
Here's a sample pic of what my milk frother can do:

 

[PinkRose]

Lately I have had major problems frothing my milk, I use a Goldair milk frother, I thought the machine may have been faulty, so yesterday I brought a new one and still the same result, I have tried 3 different brands of milk and no joy. The milk seems to be seperating after heating and becomes bubbly and airy. I have also notice in the last week that the coffees I have brought from barristers hava been very watery and undrinkable. Are the milk companies watering our milk down or has this overly hot summer in New Zealand effected the cows and the milk they are providing. I have read that milk can be reduced in hot climates, so could the milk companies be watering it down to compensate for the shortfall.

I doubt that the milk is being watered down.

Does your Goldair milk frother heat the milk as it's frothing it? Do the directions say that you need to have a certain minimum volume of milk in the container?

Does the user manual (or the box) have a customer service number that you can call? I'm sure you'll get their attention when you tell them that you went out and bought a new one, and you're still having the same problem. Maybe they'll have some useful suggestions that will help solve the problem.

Rose

 

[MattcPayne]

Srowe, there may be an answer in the cows your milk comes from.
I don't know what the weather is like in New Zealand but as I understand it milk's composition changes throughout the season due to the cow's reactions to weather and environmental/diet changes.

According to a study done by the Animal and Veterinary Sciences Research Group of Scotland, a cow's exposure to sunlight, humidity and temperature strongly correlate with a change in milk composition.
((I would post the link but I'm not to my 5 post barrier yet, it's the first result on google for "milk composition related to weather"))


It's likely that the higher temperature and humidity of the summer months may negatively impact protien/fat content in the milk of dairy cows kept both outside and inside, and cows kept outside during the colder months also have negatively affected milk content.

Maybe the clue is in the milk, not your technique?
I'm not particularly familiar with that piece of equipment, I'm a production barista and roaster so I only ever use full-bar machines.

I hope this may help you and I'm eager to hear this resolved!

 

[Mr.Peaberry]

Srowe, there may be an answer in the cows your milk comes from.
I don't know what the weather is like in New Zealand but as I understand it milk's composition changes throughout the season due to the cow's reactions to weather and environmental/diet changes.

According to a study done by the Animal and Veterinary Sciences Research Group of Scotland, a cow's exposure to sunlight, humidity and temperature strongly correlate with a change in milk composition.
((I would post the link but I'm not to my 5 post barrier yet, it's the first result on google for "milk composition related to weather"))


It's likely that the higher temperature and humidity of the summer months may negatively impact protien/fat content in the milk of dairy cows kept both outside and inside, and cows kept outside during the colder months also have negatively affected milk content.

Maybe the clue is in the milk, not your technique?
I'm not particularly familiar with that piece of equipment, I'm a production barista and roaster so I only ever use full-bar machines.

I hope this may help you and I'm eager to hear this resolved!

First off, this thread is almost a year old by just a matter of days; however, I am intrigued with your reply about the Scotland study suggesting a correlation between a cow's exposure to sunlight (or lack thereof), temperature & humidity, and the milk produced. Did you know that there is a strong correlation between the consumption of ice cream and drowning deaths? YES, it is true! More ice cream is consumed in the summer months than in the winter months AND more people are swimming in the summer months, so they are very strongly correlated, but cause and effect is different than correlation. To claim that ice cream consumption causes drownings would be ludicrous...we all know. I'm just curious if the correlation in seasonal changes in sunlight and temperature humidity correspond to a change in dietary intake...such as going from pasture to pre-baled feed, etc., and that the environmental changes just mirror those changes.

 

[PinkRose]

First off, this thread is almost a year old by just a matter of days;

I fell for that one. I didn't notice how old this thread is.

I wonder how things worked out with his frothing problem. I guess we'll never know.

 

[Mr.Peaberry]

I fell for that one. I didn't notice how old this thread is.

The fact that it slipped by you PR, was quite a shock for me too! I successfully resisted the urge to point this out. :-D

 

[PinkRose]

The fact that it slipped by you PR, was quite a shock for me too! I successfully resisted the urge to point this out. :-D

You pointed it out in a very gentle way. Thanks for that!

January is almost over, and I'm still struggling with remembering that it's now 2016. It's been slow going this year.

Rose

 

[MattcPayne]

First off, this thread is almost a year old by just a matter of days; however, I am intrigued with your reply about the Scotland study suggesting a correlation between a cow's exposure to sunlight (or lack thereof), temperature & humidity, and the milk produced. Did you know that there is a strong correlation between the consumption of ice cream and drowning deaths? YES, it is true! More ice cream is consumed in the summer months than in the winter months AND more people are swimming in the summer months, so they are very strongly correlated, but cause and effect is different than correlation. To claim that ice cream consumption causes drownings would be ludicrous...we all know. I'm just curious if the correlation in seasonal changes in sunlight and temperature humidity correspond to a change in dietary intake...such as going from pasture to pre-baled feed, etc., and that the environmental changes just mirror those changes.

Mr. Peaberry!
I am very appreciative for your candor in pointing out to me that correlation does not equal causation, my life has been enriched and my wit sharpened thus by your rapier intellect!
There are plenty of studies on that same subject as well, the difference in milk composition in response to changes in diet and I'm sure a Google search would provide plenty to chew on on that matter.
It's also the case here in Texas that the milk production in the summer goes down as a response to the higher temperatures.

I haven't looked directly at the data but another """"study"""" done by the National Research Council (US) Committee on Technological Options to Improve the Nutritional Attributes of Animal Products(That's a doozie!) reports a decline in milk production by .4% in the summer months. The study later goes on to talk about food and the milk's response to different food sources.